Spaghetti with meatballs – a quick mid-week dinner

You’ve all loved my meatballs recipe.For all of you who have asked about using meatballs in another recipe, my spaghetti with meatballs is just the dish that the whole family will love – leftover meatballs always taste better the next day. Make extra sauce and freeze for the next time you want a quick mid-week meal idea.

So you know how to make meatballs, it’s now all about the sauce for the most delicious spaghetti and meatballs you will ever try. There’s nothing more important than having the perfect sauce that compliments the meatballs and coats the spaghetti perfectly. Making the perfect sauce it’s all about the passata you use. I use a homemade tomato passata but whichever tomato passata you use will be perfect.

Now, most of you probably have your go-to tomato sauce recipe that you use for your pasta dishes. If you have a favourite sauce recipe you’d love to share with us, leave your link in the comments below and I’ll be happy to share it in my post.

Using simple ingredients – a splash of olive oil, an onion, fresh basil, garlic cloves, salt & pepper, and dried parsley – is what makes this sauce super tasty. Oh, I almost forgot my secret ingredient – milk! Some of you may use cream but I find cream can feel heavy on the tummy. Trust me when I say that milk gives a wonderful creaminess without making you feel bloated.

WARNING: the whole family will be going back for seconds!

Frying the meatballs before adding them to the sauce adds another depth of flavour. Most people poach their meatballs in the sauce but take the extra 8 minutes to fry the meatballs. Doing this will make the world of difference to the sauce.

TIPS:

If you’re having trouble finding a jar of garlic and basil tomato passata, add another clove of garlic when frying the onion and garlic. Add 3-4 basil leaves when adding the passata and milk to the frypan.

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The prep and cooking times for this recipe is if we have leftover meatballs. Add extra time if making meatballs from scratch.

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Add the tomato passata and the milk at the same time – this stops curdling!

METHOD:
If making meatballs from scratch, follow the first three steps of my meatballs recipe.

On medium heat, add oil to the frypan and fry the onion for 2 minutes. Stir through the garlic until fragrant (30 seconds).

Pour in the passata and milk and bring to the boil. Season with salt and pepper. Once boiling, turn heat to low, cover with a lid, slightly ajar, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

After 20 minutes, add in your meatballs and cover with the sauce. Return the lid, so the sauce doesn’t splatter all over your stovetop and simmer for another 20-25 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.

While the meatballs are heating through, bring to boil a large saucepan of salted water. Cook the spaghetti to al dente. Drain and place back in the saucepan.

Stir through a heaped serving spoon of sauce into the spaghetti – this helps the pasta to not stick together.

Remove the meatballs and sauce from the heat and sprinkle with parsley.

In 4 bowls, place a serving of spaghetti topping with 4-5 meatballs (or more) and sauce in each. Top with parmesan and more parsley . . . bon appétit!